The wait was finally over for secondary school pupils yesterday as students all over Cambridgeshire found out how they had done in the GCSE exams.

And it was the start of new things as this year's GCSE results are the first which will be used for the new Progress 8 system of assessment, which will come into play in next year's league tables.

Progress 8 looks to track pupils' progress from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school and will include a number of new benchmarks, including A*-C in English and maths.

However as the transition gets under way many schools chose to release the previous indicator of five A*-C grades, including English and maths.

There was a good crop of results across the region, with a number of schools recording improvements on previous results.

At Parkside Community College, 88 per cent of students achieved a C or above in English and maths, one of the new measures.

More than half of students achieved an A* or A grade in maths, with over a third achieving the same grades in English.

Headteacher Jodh Dhesi called the results “outstanding" and spoke to congratulate his students.

He said: “They have worked hard, but have also found time to contribute to school life while with us through arts, sport and charity work.

“At Parkside we are not just celebrating the impressive top grades, but the efforts of the vast majority of students who made great progress with us."

Meanwhile at North Cambridge Academy (NCA), which won Secondary School of the Year at the News' 2016 Education Awards, 60 per cent of students achieved A*-C in English and maths, up 11 per cent on last year.

NCA was also among a small number which released a provisional Progress 8 score, which is based on students' progress measured across eight subjects.

The score came in at 0.12 meaning students are on average making greater than expected progress.

“It's been a great year for the Academy having moved into our new building, and these results provide the perfect ending to a great year."

Linton Village College was among a handful of schools which chose to adopt the new Progress 8 measure a year early and was judged against this, rather than the traditional five A*-C system last year.

Its provisional score this year, using 2015 Attainment 8 estimates, is 0.7, which indicates higher than anticipated progress.

Under the previous benchmark, 73 per cent of pupils achieved five A*-C grades including English and maths.

Principal Helena Marsh said: “We are thrilled with the performance of our Year 11 cohort.

“The students and staff have worked incredibly hard in a time of significant curriculum change and turbulence in the education system. I wish all of our students every success."

At Swavesey Village College, 80 per cent of pupils achieved A*-C in English and maths.

Meanwhile pupils at Coleridge Community College pulled in record results, with 61 per cent getting A*-C in both English and maths. The school's Progress 8 score was 0.2. Head Mark Patterson said the future was “bright".

There were also celebrations at Sancton Wood School after 97 per cent of students got A*-C grades and almost half (43 per cent) of the year group scooped A* and A grades in a least one subject.

Head Richard Settle said: "As with last year, we are absolutely thrilled with how our Year 11 students performed and it's incredible to see how our school is bucking the national trend by continuing to improve year-on-year."